Though the league's black eye this season was the main topic of Goodell's first Super Bowl news conference, he also talked about concussions, insisting a player's health takes precedence over football issues.

Referring to a spate of player arrests and the shooting death of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, Goodell said, "We have to do something about it, it's a mutually important issue."

"We have to educate our players to the issues out there," he said Friday. "We are raised to a higher standard in the NFL. We must make sure the players are more accountable and our clubs are more accountable."

Goodell and NFL players' union chief Gene Upshaw will meet with players "to gauge their perspective on what is really happening."

In the past few months, nine Cincinnati Bengals players have been arrested. One player in Sunday's Super Bowl, Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson, still faces weapons-related charges and needed permission from an Illinois judge just to travel to the title game against the Indianapolis Colts.

"I don't see it happening in droves. I think it's just a few, but that's a few too many," said Goodell, who replaced Paul Tagliabue as commissioner in September. "We recognize some players don't do what we want them to do and when that happens, we have the means to deal with it."

Responding to reports that former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson was forced to practice with a concussion, Goodell praised team trainers and league doctors who deal with concussions and said, "I certainly hope that our coaches always are looking out for the medical well-being of the players."

He said he needed more information on the Patriots' situation before commenting directly about it.